under the radar
by danita3
Summary: why wouldn't Greg's mother just leave him alone ? i know , bad summary , just give it a shot :P  , might be a possible slash , donno yet but i just love greg and nick as a couple !
1. Chapter 1

(A/N: just gotta say , GREG'S NOT GETTING ENOUGH ATTENTION ON THIS SHOW ! so thats why i see myself doing a lot of greg centred fics . i get really pissed off and there is this boiling anger inside of me , i mean , whats wrong with my greggo :'( . and i hate sara so much -_- , why are all people just crazy about her ! why is every thing about her ! 'jealousy , i know U_U' . but then again i love nick 3 even though he too is getting way too much time more than my greggy T^T )

"Yes mom ... no nothing happened. ...I was tired! ...Jesus mom! I won't forget, ever again alright?...I'm sorry ...yes I know mom ...love you too , bye"

"That sounded like a pretty intense thing going on right there "Sara said, she walked in on Greg while he was on his cell phone talking to his mother. Whenever Greg was annoyed, Sara would know that he just got his daily phone call from his possessive, overprotective, meddling mother. Greg's words, not hers. She thought it was cute that his mother wouldn't stop babysitting him even though he's almost 33 years old now. Sara couldn't help but feel a tinge of jealousy from Greg for having such loving parents. Sara talked to her mother every now and then, she couldn't possibly be angry from her. If it wasn't for her, her father would've kept terrorising them in their own home. Somehow, her mother killing her dad was her way of protecting her, even if it led her into living in foster homes. She was 16 anyways; she was old enough to take care of herself.

"You won't believe what this was all about! I forgot to lock the door to my house! "Greg shrieked, throwing his cell phone on the table in the break room. He headed towards the coffee machine, knowing that a nice cup of blue Hawaiian coffee would do the trick to relax his mind a little bit.

"I hate to disappoint you Greg, but your mom's got a point there. How did she know you forgot to lock up your door anyways? "

Greg sipped his coffee, lingering the taste in his mouth. he threw himself on the couch and stretched his legs , allowing his muscles to relax . He hated arguing with his mother, and it seems to be that it's all they've been doing lately. And the fannysmackin incident didn't exactly make things easier. After taking a deep breath, he started explaining the whole thing to Sara, who was currently running out of patience.

"Well, Marty came to Vegas for a vacation ..."

"Who's Marty? "Sara interrupted, as she recalled, Greg didn't have any siblings or any relatives for that matter, other than his parents and his grandparents who were back in Norway.

"He's one of my friends back at high school. I believe he's the only thing keeping my mother sane; she lost it when I moved to Las Vegas. Marty loves my mother so much; she gives him a lot of attention, even more than me sometimes! He always visits her, and she always bakes him cookies! Sometimes we joke about it, that we want to trade mothers. Mine for being over protective and his for being so easy going that she doesn't know what's happening in the world. My mom always keeps telling me about how much of a bad son I am, and she keeps comparing me to Marty! puh lease ! He's probably showing up at her door steps to nibble on my favourite animal shaped cookies every day! And she never turns him down! "

Sara couldn't help but a be a little bit amused about Greg's rambling , but she knew if she didn't act now , he wouldn't stop .

"Ok ok, back to how your mom figured out you forgot to lock your apartment "

Greg took another sip from his coffee, and then he picked up from where stopped last time

"Right, as I was saying. Marty came to Vegas, and my mom gave him a package to deliver to me. She gave him the address to my apartment. So he shows up at my door step, rings the bell, and finds no answer. Mom definitely told him it was my day off and that I would probably be home at that time, I forgot to tell her that I got called out. Then he pushes the door, finds it open, and he steps inside and sees the mess in my apartment. Marty doesn't know that its a normal Greg sanders kind of mess so he assumes that I got kidnapped and instead of calling me , he calls my mom ! "

Sara just acted the way she always does after hearing one of Greg's quirky stories. Raising her eye brows in surprise along with a small grin appearing alongside her face. No matter how strict or uptight people were, she was sure they wouldn't help not to smile around Greg; it was his sort of thing to make people feel good. Minutes later, Sara found herself yawning. She glanced at her watch at it singled that it was the end of their shift.

"Aren't you gonna get home Greg? Shift's over "

Greg suddenly shot up from the couch, making Sara jump slightly. Shift was finally over! He couldn't wait till he got back home to his nice comfy bed and his fluffy pillow. He headed towards the locker room, grabbing a set of clothes that needed to be taken to laundry, then he placed his badge and his vest and closed his locker.

When he got back home, he found Marty fast asleep on his couch. "Mom must've told him to secure the house while I'm gone "Greg thought, mentally laughing at how extreme his mother got sometimes. He pushed himself towards his bedroom and crashed on his bed, not bothering to change out of his clothes. Just as his body collided with his bed, he was out cold in matter of seconds.

"Greg? Greggy? Sweet heart? Open up your eyes "

Greg heard someone calling him in the distance. He turned on his side and grabbed his pillow and wrapped it over his head, shutting out whoever was calling his name. This seemed to be working; the voice disappeared for a while. Minutes later Greg felt the pillow being snatched out from his hands. He moaned and mentally cursed at this person who wouldn't leave him alone, he'd just had one of the most exhausting shifts in the history of his career as a CSI.

Greg slowly opened his eyes that were still heavy from the lack of sleep. He was met with a blurry image of a person standing right on top of his head. He rubbed his eyes furiously, trying to shake off the blur to determine who's this annoying person that insisted on depriving him from his much needed rest. " hell no ! " Greg thought , suddenly panicking and trying to cover himself with his bed sheets seeing as he was in his bed with only his boxers on . "MOM! " Greg yelled at her. "Oh shut up! Are you covering up from me? I changed your diapers boy! "She scolded him. "No mom, Marty is still out there! I don't want him walking in on me like this! Besides, I'm pretty sure I slept with my clothes yesterday. Did you undress me! " . His mother wore an innocent expression on her face and came and sat right next to Greg on the bed, taking one of her brown locks and twirling it with her finger. "You didn't seem comfortable with your clothes on dear. But you just slept right away because you were tired "

Greg just sighed then slowly rose out of his bed, yawning and stretching his sore muscles. "I must've slept in a wrong angle "Greg told himself, walking towards the bathroom, popping some aspirin into his mouth to help reduce his terrible headache. Greg looked at himself in the mirror, he was paler than usual, and he knew the reason. "No, don't think about that right now "he told himself, then he glanced towards his mother from the bathroom door. "Is that why she's here? I mean, she was always miserable on that day but she handled herself ". Greg soon got back to the sink washing away his troubled thoughts.

After grabbing a towel and drying his face, he saw that he had only one hour left till his shift starts again. "Wow, have I really slept that much? ". He asked himself, pulling one of his crazy shirts and some worn out jeans. "Mom, if you don't mind, I wanna change into my clothes "his mother just rolled her eyes and muttered under her breath about how much of a brat he was. Greg put on his clothes then went to the bathroom again to do his hair. After finishing everything up, he saw that if he didn't get going now, he'll be late for his shift. Greg started frantically searching his room for his keys; he stumbled upon his shoes that were hidden under a pile of dirty clothes. "Looking for these? "His mother asked, shaking the car keys in her hand. Greg immediately grabbed the keys and broke into a run towards the door , reaching his car and fumbling with his keys , Ecklie's words still burned into his memory " this is the third time this month sanders ! I knew Grissom shouldn't have hired a kid in the team! But would anyone listen to me? Of course not. Make yourself useful and try to be on time Sanders! "

Greg drove as fast as he could to the LVPD building, surprised that he didn't break any speed limits. He made his way to the break room where he knew everybody would be. "You look terrible "Sara simply said. "Thanks. I woke up into a nightmare! "Greg replied. "Oh, and what could it possibly be? "She prepared herself for a weird answer, as to be expected from Greg. "I just opened my eyes and found my mother hovering over my bed "Sara laughed and Greg just glared at her. "It's not funny! She's gonna make my life a living hell while she's here! "

"Come on Greggo , it can't be that bad " Nick joined in , patting Greg on his shoulder . " oh trust me, it is that bad ! " . "Alright team, gather around, hopefully today is much less stressful than yesterday was "Grissom's voice broke into the air. Soon everybody was gathered around him. After discussing their assignments, each of them headed to work on their cases. Greg was teamed up with Nick, which he was thankful for. He couldn't put up with Sara's constant burning questions about Grissom . "Excuse me; do you know where can I find Greg Sanders? He's my son "Greg heard someone saying. He grabbed nick's arm and started dragging him to the exit "quick! Let's get out of here ". Nick pulled his arm away from Greg and held him down by his shoulders "whoa! Greggo. What the... "

"No time to explain! Let's just get out of here before she sees me! "Greg nervously said. "Oh there he is. Thank you dear "Greg's mother said to the receptionist, making her way towards her son. "Greg! "She called out after him. Greg closed his eyes, embracing himself to be embarrassed in front of the entire lab. "Honey, I made you breakfast. Cherry pie, your favourite! I threw in some cookies in there too, just because I love you so much. I made sure the dolphin shaped ones are there. You shouldn't go to work with an empty stomach sweet heart, I don't want you to pass out in front of everybody "

Greg grabbed the plastic container from his mother thanking her. Then she suddenly came close and started fixing his collar.

"Mom, cut it out! "

"Stand still and stop complaining! You look ridiculous ". Greg just huffed and rolled his eyes. He could tell nick was clearly enjoying this, as he was barely holding his laughter. "Oh, and I also hired someone to clean up your place, I don't know if you noticed, but your place is pig's pen "Nick laughed when he saw Greg's eyes grow as big as saucers . It was priceless! He was sure Sara and Catherine would've enjoyed it as much as he did.

"And what will you be doing mom? " Greg asked, dreading what was about to come next. "I'm here to talk to your boss "

"About what! "

"About cutting you guys some slack! My handsome little boy shouldn't look like a dead mummy! No wonder you haven't had a date in ages! "

"Mom, everybody in here is treated the same "

"It's time for some change then "

Greg started rubbing his temples; his headache from this morning was getting more intense. He was shutting out everything his mother was saying, he wished she would stop already. Nick sensed Greg's growing anger and decided to step in. "MRS sanders , I'll make sure to talk to my boss about it , it's just that sometimes things can get out of hand and they really need all the help they can get "

"That's not enough for me, I need to make sure that my Greggy will be ok! Keeping this up is really bad for his health! "

"ENOUGH! "Both Nick and Cassandra, Greg's mother. Both were startled at Greg's sudden outburst. "Mom, I have a job to do. So if you excuse us, we will be leaving. And please just get back home! You embarrassed me enough as it is! Or just wait for me till I finish my shift. I'll talk to you once we get back, this has to stop! "

Cassandra just nodded, clearly shocked that her son would snap at her like that. "Let's go Nick "Greg said, Nick followed him towards the garage. "Don't you think you were a little bit harsh in there Greggo ? I mean, she's just looking for you "Nick asked, trying to reason with him a little bit. "You don't know anything nick! Just, please, let's not talk about this anymore ". Nick just nodded and they soon after drove to the crime scene.

Plz make my day and tell me that i don't have any grammar mistakes T^T


	2. Chapter 2

(A/N: glad to know that some ppl agree with me that greg doesn't get enough time on screen U_U . does anybody know where can i complain :P ?)

...

It was a long ride to the crime scene, and Greg was bored out of his mind and didn't think nick was up for a talk right now. Greg wasn't so sure, but he remembered leaving some of his CDs at nicks car, in case they were together and nick was the one driving . He opened one drawer that was ahead of him , looking through the CDs until he found one of his . "There!" he victoriously said. Pushing the CD into the stereo.

"Oh no you don't! we are not listening to one of your CDs greg!" Nick said, facing Greg for a second. "Come on Nicky, I'm bored" Greg whined. Nick just smiled and shook his head, focusing on the road once again . "Fine Greggo , I'll let you have it your way this time " he said . Greg pressed the play button, and the Politik started playing.

"Coldplay? Seriously Greg? "Nick asked, obviously confused. "Hey! There's nothing wrong with Coldplay!" Greg defended. Nick laughed and extended one of his hands to raise the volume "I aint sayin that there is anything wrong with them, I like Coldplay too. Just didn't think they were your style ". Greg just shrugged and continued listening to the song. Every time the piano part came up , Greg pretended to crazily press on the piano's key boards , imitating Chris martin and looking like some mad scientist . Nick's face broke into a wide grin as he watched Greg from the corner of his eyes. He almost wished the ride wouldn't end so he would get to spend more time with Greg, watching him act furiously towards his music.

The car slowly stopped as they reached their destination. They both got out of the car and grabbed their kits, meeting up with brass that was waiting for them in front of the crime scene. "What happened in here?" Nick asked

"We just got her I.D. Tina Becket, 23 years old. Some of her colleagues reported her missing after she didn't show up to work for three days in a row. A homeless man found her in a dumpster and then someone saw the body and called the police. She works as accountant at Brinxton Corporation" brass explained.

Greg slowly knelt beside the body, checking it for any details. Nick knelt down right next to him, also observing for anything that might give them a prospect of what might have happened. Greg lifted the victims arm. There were some bruises on it; Greg concluded that someone might've grabbed her too hard. He took out his camera and started shooting pictures of the victim. Nick turned to David, who was currently measuring the victim's lever temperature. "She's been dead for more than 48 hours "he announced

"That's about the time she was reported missing "Nick said, also snapping some pictures of the stab wounds which were obviously the cause of death. Once the coroners lifted the body and took it to the morgue, Greg and nick started looking around for the murder weapon.

"I don't think it's likely that we would find the murder weapon around this area "Nick stated, and Greg just nodded in agreement.

"And I don't think we would find anything useless in here Nicky. I mean, she was found in a dumpster. The killer threw her here after he killed her, that's for sure. So, this isn't our crime scene so we won't find much. I guess the victim's our only hope. All we got now is meeting up with her co-workers and family members. See if we can get anything from them. Then we go check up the body at the morgue after the autopsy then..."

"I get it G. remember, I've been doing this longer than you have "Nick chuckled, he wasn't so sure what Greg was so nervous about. After scanning the place for multiple times, they came out empty handed .so they just packed their kits drove back to the lab. Both Nick and Greg entered the morgue together , hoping that Al found something that might help them in their case. "Hey . Found anything?"

"Yes, well, as you can see there are three stab wounds in her body. Two of them haven't hit any major organs; the last one though went straight through her heart. Instant death. There are bruises covering her body, and I found some skin D.N.A under her finger nails. She must've fought back."

"That all? Well, nothing's going to help us much, except for the D.N.A under her nails. So Nicky, what do you say? We go to her apartment first? Or question the people who knew her?" Greg asked. Nick stood and thought about it for a few minutes. They were lacking evidence at the moment, and usually questioning people didn't help that much.

"let's go to her apartment" nick said .

Once they were in the car, Nick wanted to take advantage of the situation. Greg seemed calmer now so he wouldn't mind a nice little conversation. "So, Greg. How many girl friends you had so far?"

"A few " Greg nervously replied , fiddling with his fingers.

"Uh huh. When was the last time?"

" I honestly can't remember , it was a long time ago .back when I used to have the sanders charm .the ladies were lining up to get some this hot stuff over here " Greg said , casting a wink towards Nick.

"Right. girls are all over science geeks and chess players , now seriously Greg . How many girlfriends you got?"

"What's it to you Nick?" Greg answered. Clearly this was an embarrassing subject for him. Nick couldn't find out the truth! He has to squeeze his way out of the subject somehow, but nick showed no intention of letting it go.

"Oh my god! "Nick suddenly said , with laughter evident in his voice .

"What? What's so funny?"

"You've never had a girlfriend ever since that green eyed woman of yours haven't you?"

"So? " Greg replied, trying to sound cool about it. Truth is , he didn't care much . But a man's gotta keep his image, especially in front of one the best in the field.

"So? That was about six years ago Greg!"

"Girls haven't been occupying my mind too much. And seeing as how often we are busy, they'll get tired of it. It won't work out. Besides, I'm fine as long as I have my porn with me"

Nick laughed .he had spotted Greg's porn magazines in several occasions , and every time he found any of them , he and Warrick would hide them then bet how long is it gonna take for Greg to figure out where they've been hidden . till today , Greg has no clue where his magazines mysteriously disappeared.

"And by the way, I want my magazines back" Greg said .Nick just gave him a confused look that says "I don't know what in the world are you talking about ".

"Don't act all innocent Nicky, I know you and Warrick have been hiding them away somewhere"

Nick was surprised for a moment , wondering how long Greg knew about it .

"Nope. Not a chance Greggo . Warrick and I have a bet going on "

"Ok. I suppose you wouldn't wanna go buying a sack of extra underwear, because I remember you complaining that you can't seem to find yours"

Nick gasped and his mouth hung wide open

"That was you!"

Greg grinned and nodded, a huge smirk plastered across his face.

" Do you know how embarrassing it is to keep asking Warrick , and sometimes if I had a really bad luck , Catherine or Sara , to drop by my house to bring me some !" Nick asked , clearly embarrassed and his cheeks were blushing a deep red .

"You should've thought of that before hiding my porn!"

A few minutes passed, and then Nick finally gave up, shaking his head in defeat.

"Fine. We hid them in Grissom's office in one of the shelves , behind the bug tanks "

"What! Why? And how'd you sneak into Grissom's office anyways? If I haven't seen his house I would've sworn that he lives in there for sure! "

"We have our ways. And we hid em there cause we know how much Grissom's bugs freak ya out. So we knew for sure that you won't step your foot into Grissom's office voluntarily "

Greg gasped, glancing a mean look towards nick." Clever. I bet it was all your idea "

"Yup" nick stated proudly

"Ok then, I hid your underwear in Hodges locker!" Greg confessed. "ha ha! Beat that nick "he mischievously thought, there was no way nick was going to top this.

"You what!" nick shouted. Again, his mouth hanging open for the second time.

"Well, if you think about it Nicky, it's like hitting two birds with one stone. I hate Hodges, and you deserved it, I just hope we can make it in time to see a pile of underwear falling into Hodges face when he opens up his locker." Greg said , rubbing his hands excitedly at the thought of Hodges squirming and running to the bathroom to wash his face.

"How did you sneak them in there? And how did you snatch them from my locker?"

Greg shrugged "I have my ways"

Nick just let the news sink in. what in the world was he going to tell Hodges? He made a note to himself to never miss with Greg again. But another part of him was amused to see what kind of revenge he had in store for Warrick , his partner in crime.

"Hey! That's it. That's the house "Greg announced. The car came to a stop and they picked up their kits and made it to the one story house. Nick and Greg ducked under the yellow crime scene tape and they were met with the door of the house. "The locks are broken. A forced entry" Nick said, shooting pictures of the broken locks. "There are some finger prints on the door knob" Greg noticed. He put on his gloves then lifted the fingerprints off. "Whoever did this was an amateur. I guess we might have some luck catching this guy "Nick said, then they walked into the living room. " I'll take the kitchen" Greg announced. He looked around, and then headed towards the sink. He found a knife at the bottom of the sink. He lifted up the knife, finding it clean. Then he took some luminal (A/N not sure how you spell it), and sprayed the knife with it. Light blue spots appeared on it. "The killer must've wiped it clean. The tip of the knife matches the shape of the stab wounds found on the victim" Greg silently analyzed, bagging the knife inside the evidence bag.

Nick continued processing the living room. All he managed to find so far was a hair. Then, a light beep caught nick's attention. He headed towards a voice mail machine. He clicked on it and started listening to the victim's messages.

"Tina! Pick up the damn phone! I'm sure as hell that you're in there. I swear if you don't, I'm gonna bust into this place and beat your sorry little ass you fucking bitch !"

Nick winced at the intensity of that message. The guy was screaming his lungs out , at least they got a suspect now. After that, nick and Greg couldn't find anything else useful in the place so they went to question Tina's friends and family. they found out that she had a boyfriend , and they've been having a rocky relationship lately. They also found out that Tina was getting a promotion and the position was held between her and Simon Stewart. Nick got a permission to swab everyone for D.N.A, while Greg placed the knife inside a glass box. Minutes later smoke started coming out and some finger prints started appearing on the knife. The finger prints on the knife and the skin under Tina's finger nails matched Tina's boy friend, and the police got him arrested.

"Today wasn't such a bad huh?" Nick said, walking with Greg towards the lockers room.

"Nah, it was ok "Greg answered, throwing his stuff inside his locker and grabbing his car keys. Nick did the same then he waved goodbye to Greg

"Good luck getting back your underwear" Greg shouted after him. Nick turned and gave him a look then carried on where he was going. Minutes later, Hodges voice erupted from the lockers room

"SANDERS!"

A huge grin appeared on Greg's face as he made his way towards the break room where he found his mother waiting for him inside.

"hey mom "

...

And i'll leave it here :P . i hope you all enjoyed this chapter , it was totally random and out of plan but , it just came out xD .


	3. Chapter 3

**warning: this chapter contains some mentions of sexual harassment . **

"Hey mom ". Greg greeted his mother. She just gave him a sad smile and stood up and headed in his direction. Greg started feeling guilty for losing it on her, maybe Nick was right after all, oh well, knowing his mother, she'll get over it. "Umm, let's go home mom "Greg said. While they were walking the halls of LVPD, Greg remembered that he forgot something in his locker. "Mom, we are going to have to drop by the lockers room first. I forgot my wallet in my jeans pocket and I need it because we are ordering today. I kind of didn't have time to go grocery shopping and I'm too tired to do it now ". His mother just nodded. Greg started hating the silent treatment, but he figured that she had the right to be upset.

Once they were in the locker room, Greg opened his locker and all its contents fell since they were all messy and cooped up. His wallet fell also; it opened revealing some old pictures of Greg's family. He nervously took his wallet and closed it right away, and then he started cleaning up his mess. "Mom, I could use a little help here "Greg tried joking with her, but his mother just stood there, giving him the cold shoulder. Greg threw everything back into the locker all by himself.

"Mom, look, I know you're mad at me, and I'm sorry. You have every right to be angry "Greg looked at his mother, hoping to get a reaction from her. She gave him a look that told him that she was listening. Just in that moment, Nick came out of the shower and wanted to go grab some fresh clothes, but he stepped in on Greg and his mother and thought that he shouldn't interrupt such an intense moment. So he settled on just waiting for them to finish up whatever argument they were having.

"Mom, I was really tired. I haven't been getting enough sleep lately. I usually don't around this time of year, and you know why. "His mother looked down, suddenly feeling ashamed. Tears were pooling up in her eyes and her nose was turning into a light pink colour.

"Besides mom, you know I love you, but I'm a grown up man now. I can take care of my self. But that doesn't mean that I'm not your little boy anymore "Greg reached for his mother giving her a tight hug, and she started crying. a few seconds later she pulled away and gained back her composure .

"I'm sorry Greg. I just can't help myself. I keep feeling that I failed you as a mother, and I ruined your childhood. I just want to make it up to you. I should've given you what you lost but instead I just made matters worse "

Greg's eyes willed up with tears that soon found their way down his cheek. Nick felt a bang across his heart when he saw Greg crying . The always happy, energetic, enthusiastic Greg sanders. Clearly his childhood was something he didn't like to bring up, which didn't make sense to Nick seeing as how happy Greg was all the time and how protective his parents were , and it seemed like they gave him everything he ever wanted .

"Mom, it's ok. You were grieving. We both were. You don't owe me anything .it was my job to take care of you "

"No, no it's not ok! It never was a six year olds responsibility to take care of his weak, neglecting, pathetic mother! And now I messed things up. I tried so hard to make it up to you that I pushed you all the way to Vegas! " Christie said in a sarcastic tone. Greg sensed an argument coming, but he just had to make things clear to his mother. She's been nagging him into moving back to California ever since he stepped foot in Vegas! And he hasn't told her the real reason he moved in here yet.

"No, that's not the reason I moved to Vegas mom! " Greg firmly replied to her. He wanted to prove that this wasn't about her, well, not entirely. She won't like what's coming, but he held it a secret for too long, and it's time that she found out about it.

"Then tell me, why would you leave me and go all the way here! "His mother whispered. She didn't trust her voice at the moment. Feeling her son drifting away from her was like feeling her heart being ripped off for the second time.

"You're not exactly alone mom, you got James now "Greg felt like it was his turn to be sarcastic. His mother probably found it funny because she started laughing.

"Is this what it's all about? James? You left to Vegas because of James! "His mother yelled. Greg felt his temper rising up as well, but he decided to keep it at bay.

"He wasn't a good man mom "Greg responded calmly. His mother shook her head in disagreement, and then she looked at Greg clearly disappointed at him.

"I can't believe you're still saying this, after all he's done for us! Greg, he gave us a decent life! He got you into a good school, he put a roof on our heads, and he treated you like his own son! He tried to be the father you never had! "Christie started raising her voice higher, and Greg was finding it harder and harder to restrain himself from yelling his lungs out.

"I had a father! And his name was Raymond sanders, and he was the best father I ever had and no one, especially James could ever replace him! ", Greg hissed.

"I can't believe you're still that shallow Greg! Family isn't about blood! A father is the one who raised! Ray was never home! "

"We had financial problems at that time and you know it! Dad spent all the time he could with me! And as for you telling me that a father is the one who raised, well my dad didn't quite get the chance to do that didn't he? He's fucking dead! And sir James showing up in my last two years at school and taking charge suddenly made him my fucking father? I spent all those years without him in my life, and I sure as hell don't need him now! "Greg yelled. He felt as if a dam has exploded inside of him. He never thought his mother would talk about his dad like that. It gave him more of a reason to despite James even more.

"I still can't believe you Greg. James asks about you all the time!"

"Oh, you know why? Because he misses his little sex toy! "

Greg suddenly felt a burning fire in his right cheek. He watched as his mother drew her hand away from him. Nick's jaw dropped when he saw Christie slap Greg that hard. The shape of her palm started turning into a bruise on Greg's face.

"I've heard you complain and bash about him for as long as i can remember. And I sucked it up and didn't say anything. But how dare you say this! That's a new level of low Greg sanders! I didn't think I raised my son to be a liar! "

Greg raised his hand and touched his burning cheek. He looked at his mother, completely shocked. He thought she would never lay a hand on him ever again, and he was even more shocked that it was for James out of all people! There is also the painful fact that she didn't believe him.

"How could I make something like that up? Why are you defending him mom?" Greg asked, it was clearly shown in the tone of his voice how hurt he really was. Nick felt really bad for him, how could a mother not believe her own child?

"James wouldn't do such a thing! I know him! And if he really did that, you could've said something!"

"You're still taking his side! You should believe me! Your son! Was he there to calm you down when you cried every night? Was he there to clean up your mess whenever you got drunk? Was he there busting his ass at work to help you pay the depths that you kept piling on your self? I didn't say anything because I was scared! He said he'd kill me if I said anything!

Do you know what else he did? he didn't pay for my school , I got in with a scholarship and he made it clear to me that if I lost it , things won't be pleasant . He blew away the money dad kept for me to go to college. And he beat the crap out of me every chance he got! Mom, no kid is that clumsy. And all those bruises weren't just the bullies. Besides, he's a doctor; he could easily treat me at home and avoid being questioned from the hospital! A ..."

"Shut up Greg! I don't wanna hear these lies anymore "his mother harshly interrupted him, avoiding Greg's gaze.

"I'll put it this way mom. It's either me, or him. I shouldn't even be telling you this. I don't think any mother would stay with her husband if she found out he's been raping and abusing her kid for almost three years! "

"I'm packing up then. James included you in his will. He told me that if there was any way that he could make you legally his son with his family name then he would've done it! That's how much he loves you "Cassandra turned her back at Greg and walked out of the lockers room. Greg sat on the bench, clutching his head in his hands, letting a new set of tears fall down on his face.

"You ok there Greggo ?" Nick's voice startled him . Greg looked at him with red rimmed eyes, and then a thought suddenly occurred in mind.

"You just came Nick?" Greg suspiciously asked. Nick started getting nervous; eavesdropping was something everybody hated, especially in a bad situation like this. He thought about it and decided to lie. This was too personal for Greg and he didn't mean to invade his privacy.

"Yeah, just came out of the shower "nick calmly replied.

"Oh really? Shouldn't you be all wet and dripping water?" Nick took a look at himself. He was indeed dry! This meant that he has been out of the shower for a while now. Damn CSI observation skills!

"How much did you hear?" Nick was surprised at how shallow Greg's voice was. He expected him to be angry, and possibly even yell at him. But instead his voice held no emotions at all.

"Almost everything "Nick honestly answered. Greg nodded then he slowly whispered

"She chose him "Nick barely caught up with what Greg said, and then he heard Greg silently sobbing. Knowing Greg, he didn't want anybody to feel sorry for him. All Nick wanted to do was to hold him so tight and let him cry and take everything he's been burying out, but he knew he couldn't, and it broke his heart into million pieces.

"I'm so sorry Greg "was all Nick managed to say. Greg slowly shook his head then stared up at the ceiling,. His nose burned and it was all wet and his eyes stared to sting. A headache was beginning to form as well and his head was banging and he it felt heavy.

"She didn't even hear everything" Greg suddenly said. Nicks couldn't make out what Greg was saying. What could there possibly be more than that? Nobody deserves this, especially not Greg. It amazed Nick that with everything that happened earlier in Greg's life, he still turned out to be a wonderful person.

"What else is there Greggo? You know you can tell me anything". Nick said, putting a hand on one of Greg's shoulders and gently squeezing it. Greg closed his eyes as he relived the moment that changed his life forever

_Flashback..._

"_Mom?" 15 year old Greg called out for his mother, ever since she opened her new bakery she's been always busy, and he barely ever saw her._

"_She's not here, problems at the bakery again" he heard James telling him. Greg was disappointed, his mother never had any time for him and whenever she was there she baby sat him to death. Not only wasn't she around, she didn't let him do anything as well, especially sports. That is why he probably didn't have a lot of friends. Greg nodded at James then went upstairs to change his clothes and go out. When he came down, he passed by James again. _

"_Where do you think you're going?"James asked him. Greg gave him a puzzled look, he usually didn't ask._

"_I'm going to the arcade to play some video games, it's a Saturday night dad, and I always go out to play video games". Greg grabbed the door handle to their one story house and opened it, preparing to go outside, when James suddenly slammed the door shut. Greg was startled and he gave James a second puzzled look as he had no clue about what was going on._

"_Did you ask for my permission?"James said, approaching Greg and trapping him into the corner near the door. Greg shook his head no. James smiled and leaned in closer to Greg, his breath hitting Greg's ear while he spoke _

"_You know Greg; I've been waiting for a while now. it's time for me to get what I worked so hard for " James's smile sent a shiver down Greg's spine , plus that he had no idea what James was talking about !_

"_w-what d-dd-o you mean?" Greg stuttered, James was too close for Greg's liking, his hand moved to grab Greg's chin, he lifted it up a little, slowly stroking it with his thumb._

"_Once, I stopped at an old dingy diner to grab something to eat, when I saw a sad , miserable looking little waitress . She wasn't the one that caught my attention though; it was the little boy that dropped by to see her at the end of her shift. At that moment, i knew that you belonged to me! _

_You cost me a lot you know. It took me a long time to win your mother's heart. A lot of cash too. I just gave her whatever amount she needed so she could chase after her stupid dreams. It doesn't matter though; it kept her out of the way._

_Good thing that I got an early retirement, now we can spend more quality time together. Just you and me kiddo" _

_Greg was shaking like a small little leaf, threatening to fall from the harsh winter wind. His breathing was escalating and he fought as best as he could against the pile rising up in his throat. He has to do something, but what?_

"_i-i'll call t-the police" Greg threatened, but he doubted it would have any effect. He was reeking with fear, and he bet that James could see it , smell it , and feel it. Greg was right, cause moments later he felt James's fist connecting with his jaw. Greg fell on the hardwood floor, blood trickling down to the side of his mouth .James slowly picked Greg up and pulled a napkin out of his pockets and started gently wiping the blood from Greg's face._

"_Oh, look at that! You just had to make me hurt your beautiful face. You tell the police, and I'll make sure you don't live to see another day; I'll hurt you in every way possible. Alright kiddo? Let's not make things take that turn. _

_Besides, you can look at it from another prospective. Your mother has never been in love ever since your father died, correct? And although I don't love her back, look at how happy she is with me. Do you really wanna take her happiness away after she finally found it? Wouldn't that be selfish of you?"_

_Greg trembled, he knew that he was signing up for hell but he had no choice. For the sake of him and his mother, he slowly agreed to do whatever James wanted him to do._

"_Upstairs" _

_Greg slowly headed towards the stairs with heavy footsteps, praying with each step he climbs for something to happen or someone to come and save him. But nothing happened, and no one came._

_End of flashback ..._

"He was very nice in the beginning. He got me presents, we watched games together and he stood up for me against my mom. I thought that I finally found a father. We were so close that I started calling him dad. I would have never, expected things to turn out that way "

"Oh Greg "

"It got to the point that I didn't care about my life, I just wanted to tell the police. But I kept remembering my mom. After losing dad she had me only, I don't know what would happen to her if I got hurt or if I was gone. And James would definitely leave her too, that's just too much to take "

Nick had tears forming in his eyes, to hear Greg saying that he didn't care about his life in the end, it must've been really bad .Nick couldn't imagine how his life would be like without Greg, he was the spirit of the lab and everybody loved him. But there were some things that confused Nick, and he needed to ask Greg about them.

" I noticed that it was your mom who always came to visit , and you always seemed to be relieved when she tells you that your father couldn't make it with her . What's confusing me is that, he's always sending you presents and money whenever you needed "

"That's mom's doing, she just says it's from James cause she wants me to like him more. When I started calling him James she forced me to call him dad. so I call him dad in front of her and , with myself or other people , I just call him James or I just don't mention him at all " Greg said.

Nick could see a terrified look every time Greg mentions James's name, he was still afraid of him, and Nick wanted to help him get rid of it , but if he was to do that , he had to know everything about Greg to know how to approach him.

"Why hasn't he left your mom after you came to live in Vegas?"

Greg already knew the reason so he didn't have to think it out .he sighed and looked at Nick in the eye, making him feel that he was completely sure about his answer.

"My mom totally got him broke when she opened her bakery business, and for some reason the money he gets from his retirement check isn't enough for him. so my mom is basically taking care of everything and he likes it .don't forget that he's probably expecting me to come to California some time , which I won't .

I couldn't leave when I was at school because; you know I was at school, and the fact that I was still a minor. When I officially became an adult, I packed up my stuff and took off to Vegas as soon as I could. I left mom a video tape saying goodbye and telling her that I had to leave without her knowing because she wouldn't have let me leave.

When I came here, the money I had wasn't much .it barely covered a cheap motel room and my mom stopped supporting me for a while because she was angry. I had to work so hard to cover my college fees, but in the end mom felt sorry for me and decided to help me out a little bit financially "

Nick nodded and Greg felt that he yet had another question. Greg felt like a suspect in an interrogation room, but he knew that Nick was only concerned and a little bit curios. He trusted Nick so he allowed him to ask more questions.

"Why did you specifically choose Las Vegas?"

Greg smiled a little before answering Nick's question, he felt good about answering this one.

"My father has never been to Vegas, and it was his dream to come here. I know it sounds stupid but, I thought I should do this for him, and in the end I ended up living here"

"And we are thankful for your father for bringing you here "Nick silently thought, a small smile also forming on his face. For his next question, Nick was very nervous. He didn't know if he should ask or not. Greg sensed his nervousness and indicated to him that it was ok.

"Alright, I promise you I won't ask you anything after this one. Uh, how did your father pass away?"

Greg looked slightly uncomfortable and he looked everywhere except for Nick's eyes. This was very emotional for Greg .He didn't want Nick to see the rivers that were waiting to fall at the tip of his eye lashes because he knew he wouldn't be able to control himself once the first drop lands. Greg never talked about it to someone. Some people knew the fact that his father was dead but they never got to know what really happened, so Greg was a little tensed when he told Nick what happened.

"We were in a really bad financial state. My father was sick, he had Mitral Stenosis , a form of heart failure . He needed surgery and it was expensive. He had to quit his job because he couldn't work in his state, and because of the doctor's orders. We kept borrowing money from people and when dad got better he was working really hard to pay them back.

One night, I was sitting with my mom in the living room. We were playing scrabble together and dad just came from one of his multiple jobs looking really exhausted. The bell rang, since dad was near the door he said he'll get it. There was a man standing outside of it, I couldn't see his face. He was talking to my father and then suddenly he started yelling about how long he has waited and that he needed his money back. Dad told us to go inside, and we did.

A few minutes passed, and we got really worried. When we came outside the man drew his gun out and shot my father right in front of my eyes. I froze and my mom carried me right away and we ran outside from the back door. The police haven't caught the guy , I never knew who he was "

"Greg" Nick called his name and Greg just kept looking away. Nick grabbed his shoulders and forced him to face him.

"Greg, look at me. Hey, it's ok to cry, it doesn't make you any less of a man" Nick gently spoke to him. It was like a signal because as soon Nick finished his sentence; Greg broke down and cried his eyes out. Nick grabbed Greg's head and laid it on his chest and was slowly rocking him back and forth whispering soothing words in Greg's ear.

"Shhhhh , it's alright now . Everything is fine; everything is going to be ok". Nick kept his hold on Greg until he was sure he was ok. Greg wiped his eyes and his nose then slowly stood up grabbing his car keys and his wallet with him.

"Greggo , why don't I drive you home today ? You look tired. "Greg silently nodded and followed Nick to his car.

**...**

**OMG ! that was like the longest thing I've ever written in my entire life ! i don't know if i should finish this , im facing the damn writer's block at some point here .**


	4. Chapter 4

** Warning:**

This chapter contains mentions of rape and child abuse, if you find that to be offensive I recommend that you don't continue with this story. Enjoy reading!

It was a silent ride from the crime lab to Greg's apartment. No words were exchanged between the two CSI's, seeing as Greg dozed off to sleep a couple of minutes after they got into Nick's truck. Greg's head was resting on the right side window; his spikes were ruffled from the air conditioned wind passing through them. Even when he was asleep, pain was still etched across his handsome features, and the dry tear tracks were very alarming against his pale skin. Nick hasn't realized until now how truly exhausted Greg was. That's why he felt a huge pang of guilt surging through him for waking up Greg once they arrived to his place.

"Hey buddy, we're here" Nick gently tapped on Greg's shoulder. The ex lab rat slowly stirred awake. He seemed very disoriented and unstable on his feet. Nick thought it would be best if he escorted the young man up to his apartment.

"Come on, I'll help you get up". He placed one of Greg's arms around his neck and guided him all the way through the stairs. Greg suddenly felt grateful for Nick's help because everything around him was blurry and he wouldn't have been able to navigate his way straight to his apartment floor. He was pretty sure if Nick wasn't with him he'd end up cracking his head.

"Where are your keys G?" Greg seemed to be taking a long time to answer Nick's question, so the older CSI figured that his friend was too tired to comprehend anything at the moment, therefore he searched Greg's pockets and managed to get the keys and open the door.

Once they were inside, Nick tried to remember the layout of Greg's apartment. He hasn't been over for a very long time, and he could see that Greg had some drastic changes done to update his home. The living room has been painted with a toned down lime green color, except for one of the walls which has been painted a dark grey. The plain white marble floor has been replaced with a black American walnut parquet wood floor, giving the place a somewhat classic texture.

In the middle of the living room sat a welcoming and comfy brown leather couch, and in front of the couch was a glass table framed with steel edges. A white vase containing purple orchid flowers was added on top of the table, and under the table sprawled a white fuzzy carpet. Then there were two black and white bean bags, which were placed in front of the glass table and facing the dark grey wall.

The wall held a 51 inch flat screen TV that's been connected to an advanced sound system, and a couple of shelves which contained a DVD player, a satellite receiver , a playstation 3 gaming console, and some CD's scattered around. In the left corner at the back of the living room, Nick spotted a desk made of hardwood and shaped as a half triangle, above the desk were shelves made of the same material to match the desk. The first half of the desk had a laptop on top of it, an open book Greg seemed to be reading or possibly working on, and a reading lamp. The shelves above the desk contained various things from books to small cactus plants to some bobble heads, Nick had to smile at that. The second half of the desk was empty, but the picture frames that hung on the wall next to it caught Nick's attention.

"Lemme just get Greg to bed first and I'll check them later on" Nick secretly thought. He repositioned Greg because he was starting to slip a little, then he headed straight forward into a small corridor and found himself face to face with three doors. If Nick remembered correctly, Greg had a master bedroom, one guest room and three bathrooms, one bathroom inside each room and one located outside. Nick opened the middle door and luckily found it was indeed Greg's bedroom. He gently placed his young colleague on the bed and tucked him in.

"Sweet dreams Greggo" Nick softly whispered, careful not to wake the now sleeping figure occupying the large bed.

Nick left the room, slowly closing the door behind him. He sighed; his gut was telling him that he shouldn't leave Greg alone tonight.

"I'll just make myself at home, I'm sure Greg wouldn't mind" he told himself. Nick found himself back into the living room area, looking for something to help him relax. He spotted Greg's small kitchen on the far right side of the room. The kitchen was composed of an island with high chairs to sit on, a few cupboards, a dishwasher, a stove, a fridge, and not to mention the toaster and the coffee machine.

Nick opened the fridge to grab a nice cold beer to help ease his mind a little bit. He took a swig then headed back to the wall that held the pictures he saw earlier. There was punk Greg, nerdy Greg, kid Greg, Greg with his college buddies, Greg with his friends from the lab, Greg with his mom, and Greg holding a baby.

"Hold on a minute, Greg holding a baby?" Nick's confused mind registered. His friend doesn't have a son, unless he was hiding him somewhere. He didn't have any siblings and not many family members that he knew of. Maybe that was a friend's baby? Yeah seems like a reasonable explanation, but the picture looked very old and it shouldn't if Greg was this age.

"Oh my God!" Realization clicked inside Nick's head. That's Greg's dad, and that's baby Greg he's holding.

"Wow, like father like son" Nick took another swig of his beer then found his way towards the couch. He flipped on the TV, settling on national geographic channel. He was watching a documentary about ancient Egypt when his eyes started to slowly droop till he completely fell asleep.

** Greg's bedroom**

Inside the cold dimly lit room, a young man was having anything but a peaceful sleep. He kept tossing and turning, his covers were a complete mess and his mind was showing him things he never wanted to remember:

** Flashback**

a tall man with a slightly built figure stood in front of a terrified young boy, casting a look that made the kid freeze and caused his breath to get caught in his throat.

As the man stepped forwards, the kid stepped backwards till he hit the wall behind him and couldn't get further away from the sick man approaching him.

"You're cute when you're scared" the man ran his fingers over the boy's cheek, the boy got out of his haze and pushed the man's hand away and tried to break into a run towards the door.

Unfortunately the tall man anticipated the boy's movements and caught the kid by his collar, throwing him harshly against the hard floor. The kid remained frozen on the spot, partially from pain and partially from shock.

"Greg, why are you always trying to make me hurt you?" the man bent down next to Greg, softly stroking his brown locks.

Greg wanted to push his hand away again, but his body wasn't responding to his own commands. Instead tears found their way down his face.

"Shhhhhhhh" the man cooed. Greg felt sick to his stomach being comforted in this way by this man. When the shock initially wore off, he kicked the man square in the chest, forcing him to gasp in pain.

"Son of a bitch! I'm done playing nice now, when I'm finished with you, you're going to wish you were never born" the now furious man yelled at Greg and yanked him up roughly then threw him onto the bed. Seconds later he was on top of Greg, pinning his lower body with his weight and lifting his arms over his head with one hand, while the other hand was working on undressing him.

Greg was scared shitless now, he was thrashing and moving, trying to do his best to shake the man off of him, but he was way heavier than Greg was. After he realized it was no use, frustration began to down on him and tears found their way to his face once again.

Greg's shirt and jeans were gone now, he was left with his boxers only and he was already feeling exposed and humiliated. Now the man's hand was holding his waist band, and Greg involuntarily whimpered.

"Da...James, p-please , don't do this "Greg pleaded, but James was having none of it. In fact, he just smirked and turned Greg on his stomach.

"You're going to pay for the little stunt you pulled earlier, I won't be gentle by any means" James said, strapping Greg from his last piece of dignity.

"Prepare yourself, this is gonna hurt "he whispered in Greg's ear. Minutes later a bloody scream traveled inside the entire house as James roughly entered Greg.

Blood was trickling on the sides of Greg's legs and he felt his inside rip into two. He never experienced such pain in his life, not when the bullies used to hit him at school and make fun of him, not when his mother insulted him sometimes or hit him when she was really drunk, not when he had to work till he couldn't stand to support his mom.

This had to be the most painful thing he ever went through, other than losing his father, which was what got him into this entire mess.

"You better stop screaming or else, I'm capable of doing other stuff"

Greg didn't want to take a risk, what was happening now was bad enough, he pulled a pillow and released his muffled screams of pain into it. He felt dirty, he felt used, he felt violated, nothing has ever made him feel this bad towards himself.

Greg wanted to gag, especially when he heard James moan of pleasure, and he felt something dirty inside of him after he pulled out. The pain extended to his entire body before it was too much for young Greg and he slipped into the world of darkness.

** End of flashback...**

"Greg, GREG! Come on buddy wake up, it's just a nightmare, you're ok , no one's going to hurt you" Nick tried to wake up Greg and free him from the prison his own mind trapped him in.

It all happened when Nick was asleep and he suddenly heard a scream, which undeniably came from Greg's bedroom, startling Nick and causing him to accidentally fall off the couch and steadying himself to get to Greg as fast as possible.

Once he was there, Greg was violently thrashing in his bed, that's when Nick busted through, intending to save his friend from his emotional torment.

After what seemed like an eternity of useless attempts, Greg finally woke up, panicked and wide eyed and frantically scanning his surroundings. Nick held his hands and gently soothed him until he was sure that he was actually safe.

"It was just a nightmare, you're fine Greggo, no one's going to hurt you" Nick rested Greg's head on his chest and slowly rocked him back and forth. He felt Greg's tears staining his shirt and he felt the silent sobs emitting from the man he was holding in his arms, that dream must have really disturbed him.

"Wanna talk about it? It might make you feel better "Nick asked. Greg just shook his head, voicing his refusal to discuss what had just occupied his dreams.

"It's alright pal, its completely up to you. But I'm here whenever you want to talk about it"

After a few moments of silence, Greg finally spoke.

"I'm sorry Nick, I'm just, I'm not ready to talk about it. What happened to me is disgusting, I'm surprised you're still even talking to me"

Nick wasn't expecting what Greg admitted to him, but then again he would never know what Greg's feeling. Greg never had the support Nick had when his parents found out about the incident with the baby sitter, and Nick knew the fear and the pain he felt was nothing compared to what Greg experienced.

Nick wasn't raped, Greg was, Nick had support, Greg didn't, so Nick was going to make sure Greg understood that he wasn't alone, that he had someone with him to offer him a shoulder to lean on.

"Greg, look at me"

The blonde haired CSI refused to meet Nick's eyes, he was too ashamed to look at him. Nick never thought he'd see Greg with such low self-esteem, he was always so confident and had a charisma accompanying him whenever he went, which Nick had been jealous of sometimes. He gently lifted Greg's head to meet his own until he was sure Greg was completely looking at him.

"Hey, whatever happened to you when you were a kid, wasn't your fault, you didn't ask for it, it was that bastard who forced himself on you and made you believe you're to blame for this , believe me , I know"

Greg didn't seem convinced about what Nick told him. Nick was his friend; he'd tell him anything to make him feel better, including hiding the truth of what a pathetic low life he was.

"How do you know that?" Greg whispered.

"Because, I was molested when I was 9"

Greg was stunned. He certainly didn't know this fact about Nick, and he felt awfully bad for reminding him of it.

"Oh my god Nicky, I'm so sorry I didn't know"

Nick just smiled at Greg and reassured him that it was fine, that although its painful to think about at times, he learned how to get over it.

"When my parents found out, they were very upset I didn't tell them, they went to a shrink and he told them it was probably because I thought I was responsible for what happened, and he was right.

My parents spent a long time, trying to make me understand that it wasn't my fault, just as it isn't your fault Greg.

I'm so sorry you didn't have that growing up, but you know what? You turned out into one of the most amazing people I have ever met in my entire life"

Greg innocently gazed at Nick with questioning eyes.

"Really?"

"Yeah Greggo, really"

"The first time he did it, mom wasn't around"

Nick was surprised Greg changed his mind so suddenly, he wanted to tell him that he didn't have to, but he thought it would be better to let Greg continue without any interruptions.

"I passed out when he was finally done with me, and the next day I woke up, I couldn't walk straight. I was limping and when mom asked me about it, James told her we went horseback riding.

Every time he did it to me, I would just stay in the bathroom for hours under the scolding hot water, scrubbing so hard till I saw blood dripping down the drain.

Every time he would try something new, he made me do everything you can possibly imagine.

And Ever since James came into our lives, I've never really been into a hospital. He took care of everything at home, he couldn't risk anyone seeing the bruises and questioning me about my home life"

"Bastard"

"Yeah, I had to live with that every day for two years, and keep it a secret for my entire life, well expect for today that is"

After exposing himself to Nick, exhaustion began to wear on Greg and he found himself yawning.

"How you about you try and sleep again Greggo?"

Greg nodded, still positioned on Nick's chest.

"Will you stay with me Nicky? Its okay though if you don't want to, I understand"

Nick smiled and leaned closer to Greg.

"I wouldn't be here If I didn't want to"

** Meanwhile...**

Cassandra sanders held her phone between her hands, contemplating whether she should make this phone call or not. After coming up with a decision, she heard a familiar voice at the other end of the line.

"Hello?"

"Oh James honey, I'm so glad to hear your voice, I've missed you so much"

"Case, you've been in Vegas for a day only"

"I know darling, but, I think I'm heading back to you tomorrow. Greg and I had this enormous fight and I don't think we will be speaking to each other for a while, not until he changes his behavior."

"What was it about?"

"Oh it's nothing you need to know about"

"Come on case, tell me"

" It's just that, Greg has accused you of some very horrible things"

"What were they?"

"James, dear, it really isn't that important"

"It has to be if it made you take the next plane back to California. I tell you what, stay where you are, I'm coming to Vegas so we can sort this out"

"Ok honey, I'll be waiting for you"

"Bye case"

"Goodbye jay"

-  
Review please! I put so much effort into this chapter I deserve some treats :p


	5. Chapter 5

Nick stayed awake for a while watching Greg snore lightly on his chest.

The Texan didn't trust his young friend to be alone,and he just couldn't go to work and leave Greg in his frightened condition. Therefore,Nick fished his phone out of his pocket as gently as possible to call Grissom, without stirring the sleeping figure lying underneath him.

He had his boss' number on speed-dial, it only took a second to connect to the line before the man in question picked up.

"Grissom"

"Oh , hey Griss, its Nick. I need to ask something of you" Nick spoke , in a low hushed voice.

"Nick, Shift starts in an hour, you couldn't wait till then?"

"No Griss, actually it has to be before shift starts. I was wondering if you could give me today off?"

"Why is that?"

"uh, family issues"

"Uh huh. I see"

"...you don't believe me don't ya?"

"Well, I've known you for a very long time Nick, and I trust that whatever reason you may have is good enough. But, I'll call you in when things get hectic"

"Thank you so much Griss. I really appreciate it"

"You're welcome Nick"

Once Nick hung up the phone, he felt a movement under him and he wasn't surprised to see that Greg had woken up.

"Mornin sunshine. I hope I didn't wake you"

Greg shook his head and mumbled that he should have been awake anyways.

"Who were you talking to?" Greg asked. his eyes were still slightly closed and his curls were draped across his face , making him look way younger than he is.

"just Griss. I asked him to give me today off. I don't think you should be left alone G"

Greg disapproved whilst casting Nick a guilty look.

" You don't have to do that, especially not for me, I'm able to take care of my self .

You still have time to go to work. Save your vacation days for when you really need them, and did you even get some sleep while you're here? I'm pretty much sure that you didn't !

That's really unfair to you Nick. I think you should head back to your house and... "

"easy Greggo" Nick cut through Greg's nervous rambling, chuckling at his friend's funny antics. Greg is acting as if they were strangers, which made sense to Nick considering that they weren't as close as they were back in the day when Greg was still a tech.

" I know you can take care of yourself, but I'd feel better making sure that you're alright, its just for today.

And, Since we both have the day off, what do you say we spend some time together ? Just you and I , a guys night in,Catch up on what we missed for old time's sake?"

A wide smile formed on Greg's face, he really did miss Nick's company. Greg always wished he was as close to Nick as Warrik was, but he didn't seem to find himself interesting enough.

A fact that no one knew about Greg was, underneath all his crazy behavior and confidence was a shy guy who had problems approaching others, and now here was Nick proposing to him that they have a guys night together, and Greg wasn't going to miss it for the world.

"I'll agree to that under one condition" Greg said.

" You , get some shut eye first, and then when you wake up we'll decide on what to do"

Nick lifted both his hands in surrender

"Hey, whatever you say. You're the boss"

Greg wished Nick sweet dreams and then left the room, closing the door behind him.

"What to do, what to do" Greg pondered in his head. He had no plans for his day off other than resting, which he already did, so what was he supposed to do till Nick decided to wake up?

A grumbling noise interrupted Greg's thoughts and he glanced at the source of the sound, which turned out to be his stomach.

"Well I guess that answers my question"

Greg marched to the kitchen and searched through one of the drawers, pulling out the recipe book his mom gave him.

"At least one good thing came out of her pampering" Greg sarcastically commented. He started flipping through the book's pages till he found a recipe that he was satisfied with.

"Aha !" He pointed at the chosen selection. Meat pie, an Australian classic.

"I hope Nick doesn't dislike my choice of food course...well , isn't he a plain Ol Texan?, they love meat! Or at least that's what I think..." Greg's mind wandered while he was reading the page's contents. He scribbled down a list of ingredients he was missing to grab from the grocery store, or in his case order.

He dialed the number stuck on his fridge from the kitchen's phone and requested for puff pastry, because Greg didn't feel like making the pastry dough from scratch.

He already had meat, Greg didn't like to order it, he liked picking it himself to make sure its quality is good. He needed a beef stock though, a few herbs, and lots of tomatoes.

"your groceries will arrive in a few minutes. Thank you and have a nice day MR sanders" a preppy girl replied back to Greg.

After hanging up, Greg prepared a few things while he waited for his groceries to arrive. He took the minced meat and bacon out of the fridge to give them time to melt, then he cranked the oven up to 200•C degrees. 10 minutes later his groceries arrived and he emptied his bags on the counter.

After emptying the bags, Greg put on his cooking apron. He loved the shirt he was wearing and he wasn't going to risk getting it all greased and dumped in the trash can later on!

When the ice somewhat melted off the meat and the bacon, with a little help from the microwave, Greg chopped some onions then pulled out a frying pan. He added some extra virgin olive oil to the pan and adjusted it to a medium to high level of heat.

After the pan was all nice and hot he added the onions and the bacon, stirring them for about 3 minutes. Then he added the meat on top, also stirring it and breaking the meat apart till it was properly cooked.

Next on Greg added tomato paste and flour and mixed everything together till they combined and kept stirring for almost a minute.

The beef stock and thyme was added to the mixture as well and left to boil, then Greg reduced the heat to a medium low.

Greg kept stirring then until the sauce thickened and the meat became tender before pulling the mixture out of the heat.

Then finally Greg wrapped the pastry dough around the pie's mould, added the mixture, and then brushed the top of the pie with egg yolk to give it a nice red color before placing the pie inside the oven.

"Phew" Greg exhaled out of exhaustion, glad to be finally done. He wiped the creased layer of sweat that formed on his forehead then washed his hands in the sink and dried them on his apron.

Greg's face was a furious red color at this point, and his clothes clung to his moist body. Also Parts of his hair stuck out and some were flattened against his temples.

He was leaning on one of the counters, flapping his shirt in an attempt to fan himself before he took it off completely, revealing his well shaped body. Greg did have muscles, just not as big as the ones those bad boys had. Scars marred his back from the dreadful lab explosion, and other things no one knew about except Greg himself.

"I better clean this mess." Greg told himself. The kitchen looked like a tornado had struck and flipped everything upside down.

"Mmmm , somethin smells good" the ex lab rat turned around to see Nick standing in his hallway.

"Nick ? Why are you up ? You need to get some sleep !" Argued the shorter man, pointing a spatula in Nick's direction with his right arm, while his left arm was placed on his hip.

" I had some good rest when I first dropped you here and a few more when I was laying next to you in your bed"

Greg still didn't look convinced , Nick chuckled and assured his little buddy that he really does feel well rested.

" You know Greggo, you scared me for a minute there, standing in the middle of the kitchen looking like an angry house wife, especially with that spatula"

"Ha ha , very funny Nick" Greg mocked and went back to cleaning. that's when Nick noticed the massive destruction left all around the place.

"What the hell happened in here man ?"

Greg faced Nick and shrugged

"I cooked"

"Makes sense".

After 30 minutes the meat pie was finally ready and Greg took it out of the oven, then he set the table so that he and Nick can enjoy the home cooked meal.

"This is really good G" Nick said with a mouthful of food while speaking. Greg was trying to keep himself from giggling, but he couldn't succeed.

Nick was literally swallowing his food and digging in like he never ate before in his life. His chin had a smear of sauce on it and the pie was almost half gone.

"What's so funny ?" Nick asked . Greg continued laughing, not really answering the other man's question.

"Come on Greg ! If I'm being laughed at , I have the right to know why"

Greg managed to control his laughter and looked straight into Nick's eyes, feeling pretty much amused.

"You blew away half of the pie faster than I can blink, your face is smudged , your side of the table is a complete wreck, and you look like a hamster with the amount of food you have stuffed in your mouth.

I always figured you out to be the very well mannered kinda guy, so you can imagine my shock of seeing you like this "

Nick swallowed whatever food he had left in his mouth and gave Greg an irritated look before he started explaining himself.

"First of all , Greg , I'm your buddy , I'm not obligated to act 'well mannered' in front of you. Best friends don't do that polite kinda shit in front of each other.

Second, I am well mannered on most occasions , but hell hath no fury than a man who had been pulling double and triple shifts, had been surviving on coffee and lucky charms for days! and then someone places real food in front of him. So you'll have to excuse me if I seem a little...barbaric."

The blonde CSI couldn't help but chuckle at Nick's little confession

"Lucky charms huh ? And I always thought he was a health freak"

"Anything else you wanna add?" Nick interrupted his thought.

Greg just casted a genuine smile towards Nick that the Texan couldn't help but feel his heart warm up to.

"I'm really glad you feel comfortable enough to act the way you want around me, Nicky. It was just the total opposite of you,and it was funny.

And, let's just say I learned not to stand in the face of a food deprived man "

Nick laughed and punched Greg's shoulder from across the table

"You're a tease sanders"

"You're a mess stokes"

Nick blushed a deep red, slightly embarrassed by his disheveled appearance.

"I'll go wash up"

"Yeah , ok , and once you're done maybe we can figure out what to do next"

Nick gave Greg a wink before heading to the bathroom. Meanwhile , the dishes were washed and the remaining pieces of the pie were covered and staffed in the fridge by the blonde norwegian.

"So" Nick came back , his face was all clean and he smelled of sandle wood soap.

"So"

" Thought of anything interesting?"

Greg shrugged

" Not really"

"Movie sounds good?"

"Yeah"

Greg wanted to watch a sci-fi movie, while Nick wanted some action. They both argued for a while before settling on watching "X-men first class", since It had a little bit of both.

"You see , they call it X-men first class , because , you know , its supposed to be about the very first mutants who formed the X-men team. This movie is not the way its supposed to be though , they got all the facts wrong !

The team should've had Cyclops ,Jean Grey , Angel as in Warren Worthington the third not this fairy , and ice man ! But at least they got beast right ! "

Nick rolled his eyes and sighed patiently. Greg was definitely ruining this movie for him by telling him things he was not interested in the least. He was hardly concentrating on the screen with Greg being all geeky around him.

"Brrrrr" Greg suddenly shivered. The A/C was on and he was still shirtless for some reason. The small action caught Nick's attention, and he covered Greg with the blanket he used when he was sitting on the couch yesterday.

"Why aren't you wearing a shirt ? Trying to flex some muscles eh ?" Nick teased.

" Nah . I was cooking and it was so unbelievably hot , so I took it off.

And , FYI , I'm used to roam around my apartment in my birthday suit, so this is rather decent"

" I see"

Throughout the movie , Greg was unconsciously moving near Nick, drawn to his body heat. Nick also unconsciously wrapped his arm around Greg's shoulder and held him closer to him till Greg's head was resting on the level 3 CSI's chest. It felt like the most natural thing in the world.

"Man if we were telepaths,that would make our jobs way easier, aint that right Greggo?" Nick suddenly blurted , still keeping his eyes on the events playing in front of him on the screen.

When he didn't get a response from Greg though, he looked down and found the young man fast asleep. Soon after Nick started yawning himself and his head lulled to the side, resting on top of Greg's.

...

In another part of the city of sin , a married couple were discussing a very important ordeal over dinner in their well furnished and seemingly expensive hotel room.

The wife held her husband's hand in a comforting manner to deliver the disturbing news she had to bear.

she told him about an incident that took place not too long ago.

"I mean , it obviously isn't true , is it?"

she watched her husband's facial expressions right after she told him what happened , and he wasn't giving away any emotions.

"Honey ?" She looked at him , waiting for a response .

suddenly , a stony demeanor was etched across his features, which shook his wife to the core.

"Darling , talk to me , please"

But the man did not respond to her request. Instead , he stood up with ease heading towards one of the drawers in the room he pulled an object out of it, then he walked back slowly to where his wife was, revealing the shiny object to her.

"What are you doing !" She yelled , panicked when she saw her husband coming towards her with a knife in his hand.

These were the last words she uttered before he lunged at her until he saw the lights dim behind her eyes.

He stood right next to her body , giving his fake and hollow apologies.

" Sorry doll , seems like someone couldn't keep their mouth shut "

He kicked her arm out of his way and headed towards the door.

"And you had to pay for it " he said one last time before leaving his lavish hotel room behind.


	6. Chapter 6

In the midst of their slumber, both men were rudely awakened by the high pitched, shrill sound of Nick's cell phone.

The older man fumbled with his phone, his mind still a little fuzzy from being suddenly interrupted in his deep state of oblivion.

"Hey, go back to sleep, i'll take this and get back to ya" Nick whispered to the other occupant of the couch. He headed to the guest room to answer his call properly without disturbing Greg.

"Stokes"

"Hello Nick, i'm sorry to bother you at this time but we need you on board tonight. There's a new case and we all got our hands busy. Its a scene on the strip that needs to be processed"

Nick stifled a yawn as he informed his boss that he will be present within half an hour, after jotting down the location of the scene on a piece of paper he found lying around.

"Good luck with your case" Grissom said as he hung up the line. Nick went to the bathroom and took a quick shower, then he changed into some clothes he left at Greg's the last time he was at the younger man's apartment.

"Damn! I'll have to squeeze into those, but they'll do for now" Nick said to himself as he barely fit into his shirt and dark faded jeans.

Once he was out of the guest room, he smacked his forehead when another thought came across his mind.

"Ah, i hate to do this, but i'll have to wake Greggo up so he can drive me to the scene then return his car back here. I'll fetch a ride back to the lab with Brass where my car is"

He came and sat on the corner of the couch and gently stirred Greg awake.

"hey Greg, buddy, sorry to wake you up again, but i need a ride to the crime scene"

Half squinted eyes stared back at him, trying to absorb the information. A few seconds later Greg was up and went to his bathroom to wash his face and put on a T-shirt.

Meanwhile Nick prepared two cups of coffee for himself and his caffeine addicted friend. Once the former lab rat was done getting ready, they both headed straight to the crime scene.

" Here we are, the Aladdin hotel. Lucky you, I love working fancy places, getting a bit of a taste of the life styles of rich and famous! " Greg stated enthusiastically the moment they arrived the prestigious hotel.

" yeah well, there aint anything fun about rotting corpses and way stuck up in their ass rich people"

Greg just shrugged and cast a grin towards Nick. The muscular Texan stepped out of his car seat and went over to Greg's side and tapped on his window. Greg lowered the wind shield, eliminating the transparent sound block between them.

" Shooooo! Go away, what else do you want? Isn't it enough that you woke me up from my beauty sleep and dragged me all the way down here?" Greg said between fits of laughter.

"Nah, i'm not done with you yet Greggo. You see, Griss forgot to mention how to get to that hotel room, and this is an awfully large place. You're helping me look for Brass, so step out of your car"

"Why don't you call him and have him send you someone from patrol to show you the way?"

"They are currently searching the hotel for any signs that the killer is still on premises, so he cant spare them at the moment. Now get a move on!"

"Alright alright! " Greg surrendered and followed Nick inside the hotel.

"Okay, so it says right here that its in room 730 " Nick pointed at the small piece of paper he held in his hands.

"So seventh floor...now its the matter of finding which ditection it is"

Both men wandered around in the seventh floor until they were met with the familiar yellow tape surrounding the scene, and a certain bald head.

"Ah, there you are Nick. Sanders working the scene too?" Brass asked, expecting the level 3 CSI's arrival but not the rookie.

"Nope, he just gave me a ride" came back Nick's reply.

That was Greg's queue to leave. After greeting Brass and saying goodbye to Nick, he took the elevator down to the parking lot.

" Alright, now fill me in on the scene please" Nick said, going under the tape and inside the room alongside Brass.

"We have a caucasian jane doe whom dave expects to be around her mid forties. No ID, and her luggage doesn't seem to be around so she might have been visiting someone. She's been dead for about two hours.

She was discovered when one of the hotel's residents passed by the room and heard a commotion. The guy freaked and reported it straight away. We will send the prints as soon as you're done" Brass read through his notes, waiting for a response from the other man.

"..."

"Nick?" the detective questioned, worried about the shocked expression that suddenly made itself present on Nick's face.

"No need to send prints for identification..." Nick stated, finally regaining his voice after the shock momentarily wore off.

"What do you mean? Do you know the victim?"

Nick nodded.

"Whatever happens, do not let Greg in he.."

" Nick, Nick, Nick! " Greg suddenly came busting inside the room, catching his breath from putting on such a fast run.

"Greg! Uh, w-hat are you doing back here" the texan nervously inquired, praying to god that Greg's eyes wouldn't fall on their latest victim.

"I brought you your badge, you forgot it in my..." Greg stopped mid sentence when his attention caught on the body sprawled on the floor, with lifeless eyes matching his own staring right back at him.

"Car" Greg finished the remaining word in a numb state. His knees were starting to buckle and Nick was beside him immediately.

"I'm so sorry Greggo" Nick whispered, his heart was wrenching for his friend. He was hoping to get the chance to prepare Greg for the news, but of course nothing gets by a CSI.

Greg looked up at him with tear stained eyes and a trembling mouth, his face portraying an emotion they've all memorised all too well: loss.

"I've got no one left, Nicky" Greg began to sob, and Brass stood aside at complete confusion of what was happening around him.

"I hate to interfere guys, but I need to know what is going on"

Greg was in no state to talk, so Nick took care of providing Brass with a proper explanation.

"That's Greg's mom, Jim" after the words were spoken out loud, a very grim atmosphere surrounded the room, choking everyone with the tragic reality that is called life.

" Jesus kid, i'm so sorry for your loss. This is an awful way to find out" Brass patted Greg's shoulder sympathetically, cursing under his breath at the kid's bad luck.

"Nick,its him. It just has to be!" the grief stricken young man continued to sob with uncontrollable hiccups that painfully jarred up his rib cage.

"Shhhh, we don't know that for sure G" Nick soothed.

" And that is s-s-somehow supposed to m-m-make me f-feel better? She's still g-g-one Nick! And I...I d-didn't g-get the c-chance to f-f-f-fix things between us, and, and n-now I n-n-never will"

Brass sighed. They'd have to take Greg with them to the station to get him questioned. The senior detective did not by any means doubt Greg's innocence, but it was standard procedure, and what Greg knows could possibly help them solve the case.

"Nick, you have to finish processing the scene. I'll take Greg with me to the lab and i'll send someone from patrol to be with you and give you a lift, i'm pretty much sure they finished sweeping the hotel by now"

Nick argued that he can't abandon Greg like this and that the young man wasn't ready to be interrogated. But Brass had to remind him that this is a case just like any other, and Greg was a vital witness.

"Its ok Nicky, i'll be fine" Greg assured his concerned colleague and tried to put on a brave face.

"You sure Greggo?"

The former lab rat gave a weak smile. " I have to be strong and cooperate if I want that son of a bitch behind bars"

Nick squeezed Greg's shoulder as a sign of support, somehow conveying strength in the small gesture.

" you go ahead G, and i'll be right after you once i finish processing the scene"

" lets go kid" Brass motioned for Greg to follow him and they both made their way to the LVPD lab.

Brass took Greg to one of the empty investigation rooms located inside the crime lab. He sat across his suspect and placed a cup of steaming tea in front of the kid, hoping to calm his nerves a little.

" so, you know how this goes Greg"

The blonde nodded in confirmation, trying to properly position himself.

" Where were you two hours ago?"

Greg cleared his throat and began to talk. "I was at my apartment, I fell asleep on the couch"

" Can anybody confirm that?"

"Yeah, Nick stayed the night with me. Grissom can confirm it too. I just, I wasn't feeling great and Nick was looking out for me"

Once Greg provided a solid alibi, there was a moment of silence where Brass adjusted his notes and then he carried on with his questioning.

" Ok, from what I recall, you had a very strained relationship with your mother. And you two had a recent fight before she was murdered. What was it about?"

Greg held the steaming cup of tea with both hands,suddenly mesmerised by the hypnotising swirls forming inside it.

" I don't want to talk about it" he sombrely replied, refusing to meet the detectives eyes.

Brass sighed. " Oh come on! help me here kid. Do you want this guy caught or not?"

Greg's head lifted up, contemplating on how to deal with his raw emotions that were spiralling out of control.

" I...I do want him to be caught.

Just, give me a few seconds to wrap my head around things" after taking a shaky breath and nervously running his hands through his hair, Greg found himself reliving his last encounter with his deceased mother.

" My father died when i was about six years old. My mom and I, we were on our own for a couple of years.

She was so caught up in her own grief that I had to take care of both of us, until she met James, my soon to be step father.

I really thought that things were going to be okay, that we could all be this one big happy family, but James he, he wasn't what I thought he would be"

" What do you mean by that Greg?"

" When mom wasn't around, he-he did awful things to me. He abused me for three years, and she had no clue...

I kept it from her all these years because James threatened me that he would kill me if I ever did say anything, and as a kid I didn't know what to do.

I packed up and left for Vegas the second I was determined as a legal adult, and when I finally had the courage to tell her what happened all these years ago, she didn't believe me. Instead, she called me a liar and she chose James over me"

Brass was speechless. He didn't know what to say to the kid. Continuing the investigation would probably cause Greg more pain, but it had to be done.

" What kind of abuse are we talking about, Greg?"

Greg couldn't help the tears that formed in his eyes. He was hoping that he wouldn't have to explain more than that. He felt like he lost all the dignity and the pride he had left within him, no one will ever look at him the same again.

" He physically and sexually assaulted me" he whispered brokenly, his tears finally released from his eyes and ran down his cheeks.

" You told her this and she still picked James over you?"

The fresh set of tears and the silent response was all Brass needed as an answer. He rubbed his forehead, overwhelmed by the hideous events that took place in the kid's life. He wanted to finish this investigation as fast as he could, suddenly being in the same room with Greg was proving to be too much.

" Was he the person you were referring to when you told Nick that 'it has to be him'? "

" Yeah..."

Brass wrote down his final notes and then ushered Greg out of the investigation room. Never was he so relieved to be done with an interrogation in his life!.

" Try not to be so hard on yourself kid" the older man sincerely advised the young Norwegian, and then they both went their separate ways.

Nick met up with Brass the moment he finished processing the scene so they could both compare their findings.

He reported that the murder weapon was not found in the room, so the most common scenario is that the killer took it with him and disposed of it.

Personal belongings that could indicate the room belonged to whom weren't found either, but Nick managed to get a hold of a record that showed which name the room was registered under.

Nick also found a set of prints, some belonged to Greg's mother, but there was another set of prints that was still being run through the database.

" We have a Toby Jefferson listed here as the guest who rented that hotel room. He paid for one night only, in cash"

" Rented for the kill" Brass commented. He looked thoughtful as he processed the information in his head.

" So it may not be James like Greg originally thought"

Nick shook his head " We still can't be sure of that until we bring in Toby for questioning. Just because the room was registered under his name, doesn't mean that he actually did it.

Could be someone from room service or a stranger with professional training, or it could really be James, who knows"

" Ok, I will bring Toby in for interrogation " with that being said, Brass left to retrieve their suspect.

" Nick!" the Texan heard his name being called out loud while he was going on a quest to satisfy his caffeine crave. He turned around to face Sara, who had a frantic expression reflected on her features and a demanding need for assurance.

" Is it true? What happened? I mean with Greg's mom" she urgently asked.

Nick confirmed that unfortunately it was true.

Sara's expression changed to disgust now, and what came out of her mouth shocked every living being in Nick's body.

" Greg should value the people in his life a little bit more. I mean, who would let their own mother stay in a hotel room?

All she ever did was care for him and all he ever did was push her away and treat her like crap!

Some of us would kill to have a mother like Greg's, and she died while she was still hoping to get some appreciation from her ungrateful son!"

It took a huge amount of self control for Nick not to cause a scene in the middle of the lab. She made Greg look like a cold hearted bastard and he was anything but that.

" With all due respect Sara, you don't know shit!"

" Yeah right, another spoiled kid is gonna teach me about respect. You guys had your parents around to teach it to you and you still failed to learn it miserably.

I had to learn it myself, and i understand it perfectly! So 'with all due respect' Nick, you're the last person to talk to me about this"

Nick clenched his jaw and the veins in his neck were starting to protrude. This was an insult to him and the way he was raised. He understood that Sara had a difficult life growing up, but she wasn't the only one and he had to set her straight.

" Would you stop the tough girl act and being all bitter about everything? We've all been through rough shit growing up, and i'm not talking about teenage romances gone wrong.

I can't even begin to explain to you what Greg has been through as a child, plus that its not my place to tell. Lets just say that Greg has more things in common with you than you ever thought, actually they're even worse"

Sara stood aside with her lips pursed, she didn't comment on anything after that. Nick turned his back on her and left, his pursue for the refreshing dark liquid long forgotten.

" What do you want from me? I didn't do anything!" Asked a dishevelled looking man in his mid thirties. His clothes were baggy, his hair was a mess, and he didn't look like he had a lot of cash on him, none the less afford a hotel room like the one they found their victim at.

"On the contrary, I do think that you had something to do with this"

Nick pushed a picture of their victim in front of Toby, who's eyes went frantic at the alleged accusation.

" I-I swear i had nothing to do with it! I've never seen this woman before in my life!"

" Oh yeah? Then tell me how did a dead woman end up in your hotel room?" Nick challenged.

" It's not mine! Some guy asked me if I wanted to make easy money and I was like, of course!

He said all I had to do was to get him a hotel room using my contact information. I thought it was weird, but hey, I needed the cash"

Toby sniffed and rubbed at his flaming red nose with the back of his sleeve.

" That's a very nice story you got there Toby. Hmmm, lets take a look shall we?"

Nick opened a file he had lying in front of him on the table and started reading out loud.

" It says right here that you have a bit of a habit going on Tobes. Got busted for drug possession couple of times, petty theft, but somehow you bailed yourself out.

That's how it usually starts buddy, you begin with the small things and then it escalates to something as big as murder.

Now i know from observing drug users for so long that when they run out of supply, like your case and i can tell because of your constant sniffing and jittery state, that you're dying for a dose and you'd do anything to get some.

We know that you don't have that kind of money to rent that room, so who paid you to do the job? And I'm assuming it's the same person that keeps bailing you out every time you get your ass tossed in jail. They probably told you that you'll stay safe and nothing will happen to you.

You got nothing to lose right? Wrong! I suggest you start co-operating with us. We can tell whether you're lying to us or not. We've got a set of prints in our possession, and it will not look too good for you if they matched yours, so you better come out clean"

" Honest to god I've told you the truth!" the man yelled.

Nick and Brass shared a look that clearly conveyed that this was not their guy.

" That'll be all for now Toby. Stay near by, we might need you again.

Oh and before you leave, we want you to give a full description of the man who paid you to rent the hotel room to our sketch artist" Brass clarified.

A patrol officer came and escorted Toby outside. Nick and Brass stood aside next to the door, both waiting for nothing in particular.

" So, do you think its back to square one?" The detective asked.

" I sure hope not" Came back Nick's answer.

A/N: OMG! It was so difficult and definitely challenging to write this chapter! What did you guys think of the plot? I still have more twists up my sleeve but! Share with me! Your expectations, your reactions, what you'd love to see happening, I mean, that's what keeps me going, that's kinda one of things i live for!

R&R lovlies! 3 until next chapter :).


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